Michigan lawmakers adjourn with accomplishments

Sunday

Jun 29, 2008 at 12:01 AMJun 29, 2008 at 8:18 PM

What a turnaround from nine months ago.

When state lawmakers adjourned about 2 a.m. Saturday for a summer break, they had mostly followed through on their goal of passing a $44 billion spending plan three months ahead of the true budget deadline.

No government shutdown will occur this year mainly because the heavy lifting — raising taxes — was done last year.

David Eggert

What a turnaround from nine months ago.

When state lawmakers adjourned about 2 a.m. Saturday for a summer break, they had mostly followed through on their goal of passing a $44 billion spending plan three months ahead of the true budget deadline.

No government shutdown will occur this year mainly because the heavy lifting — raising taxes — was done last year.

A few issues such as spending on K-12 public schools still need to be sorted out when legislators return in a few weeks.

But even school officials have a general idea of what to expect in the fiscal year starting Oct. 1: at least $110 more per student in the lowest-funded districts and at least $55 more for the highest-funded districts.

Schools might get more if Republicans successfully oppose or change Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s plan to open smaller high schools by borrowing money.

“We are way ahead of last year,” said Senate Appropriations Chairman Ron Jelinek, R-Three Oaks. “This may be a record in the last dozen years.”

While they had less tax revenue to spend than expected months ago because of a worsening economy and other factors, negotiators did not have to deal with the huge shortfalls of recent years during talks. That made compromise easier.

Legislators, especially House members up for re-election in November, also were motivated to make progress to avoid a repeat of protracted and highly partisan squabbles that led to an hours-long state government shutdown and a plunge in the Legislature’s and Granholm’s standing with many voters.

“It was important for the House, the Senate and the public,” said House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford. “After last year, I think that people needed to see we could get this done. And this is pretty early in the scheme (of things.) So there is hope for this Legislature.”

Remarkably, the Democratic-controlled House and Republican-led Senate also found time in the frantic last week of session to reach a deal on bills governing the state’s oversight of large-scale withdrawals by water users. That cleared the way for the Legislature to OK a regional compact designed to prevent Great Lakes water from being piped elsewhere.

And while the Senate’s approval late Friday of comprehensive electricity legislation is being blasted by opponents, the most controversial bill limiting competition for electric customers to help utilities build new power plants is partly in line with a version already approved by the House.

That is not to say a smooth road lies ahead, especially when more contentious issues could be put off until the “lame-duck” session between the election and Jan. 1.

Significant differences between Democrats and Republicans remain over Granholm’s priority of requiring more of Michigan’s power to come from wind. The governor sees a bolder requirement as an economic engine and as good for the environment.
Dillon called energy efficiency and renewable energy bills that passed the Senate “nowhere near acceptable.”

“It’s going to take some time, some distance and objectivity to see exactly where the parties are,” said Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester.

Lawmakers also adjourned with no consensus on what should be covered in a proposed ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and other workplaces.

Both chambers have passed smoking bans, but fears remain that a stalemate over exempting Detroit casinos will keep any ban from being enacted.